Turkey kicks off estimated $1B-plus competition for Altay tank engine

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s defense procurement authority has officially launched a competition for a program designed to develop and later build a power group for the Altay, the Turkish indigenous tank in the making. The Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, or SSM, invited local engine makers to develop the “power group” consisting of an engine and transmission system for the Altay. “This will be a contract worth well over $1 billion,” an industry source said. “All the same, it will be quite a challenge for Turkey’s local industry to develop and produce the power pack [group] on a price-efficient and timely basis.” SSM’s invitation to bidding requires local firms to develop the power group for the Altay “with maximum local input and minimum foreign technology.” It says the program aims to end Turkey’s dependency on foreign power technology in the Altay program. Turkey s...